Monday, March 16, 2009

On my turntable: The Tourists - Should Have Been Greatest Hits

I don't know how this band stayed out of my peripheral vision for 30 years! I learned of The Tourists last week after seeing one of their albums in a book of New Wave album covers that Leo gave me for my b-day. I saw the pic and said "Hey - that's Annie Lennox". Turns out both Lennox and Dave Stewart were in The Tourists before splitting off to form Eurythmics.

I found a used copy this album today and *I love it*. Should Have Been Greatest Hits (1984) is a compilation of the best of The Tourists' output; It's very 1979/80, in the same company as Boomtown Rats, Altered Images, and Split Enz. The band's biggest hit in the U.S. was a remake of "I Only Want To Be With You", the video of which I present here for your enjoyment: